The cryptocurrency exchange’s Dubai-based subsidiary, OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, announced on Tuesday that it has obtained a licence from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and will begin full operational use in the coming weeks.
Through the exchanges and its app, the company will be able to offer spot services and spot pairings to institutional and retail users, and fiat transactions will be made possible by the Dubai virtual assets services provider (VASP) licence.
For a large portion of the crypto elite, Dubai is quickly becoming as their destination of choice. The most recent announcement brings OKX, which is currently the second-largest exchange in the world by volume, up to the operational level. In June of last year, VARA granted OKX a preparatory licence.
In an interview, Rifad Mahasneh, General Manager of OKX for the MENA Region, stated, “This allows us to offer services to UAE residents, which is what we’re going after, including spot trading and fiat-related services, which means deposits and withdrawals of local currency, United Arab Emirates dirham (AED).” Furthermore, we will be introducing a new service: local currency trading pairs, such as AED/BTC, AED/ETH, and soon.